Blood pressure monitors as their name suggests are used for measuring a person’s blood pressure. There are many different types of these measuring devices which vary in size and cost from those used by doctors in a hospital setting to the small wrist BP monitor that you can use at home. This article is concentrating on the blood pressure devices that are intended for home use.

Blood pressure is a measure of an individual’s state of health and a high reading can be an indication of the condition known as hypertension. For a healthy person 120/80 is the norm, but a reading of 140/90 or above can indicate a problem. Since this condition can lead to a stroke or heart attack it is important that it should be treated if it is found. Because there are no obvious symptoms when a person has high blood pressure it is advisable to have regular checks.

Because it only takes a few minutes to make the check your doctor will often do this as a matter of course when you visit. But many people prefer the convenience of owning their own wrist BP monitor so that they can make the check at home. There have been concerns that wrist cuff monitors may not give an accurate reading, but this can be resolved by calibrating your machine against one used by your doctor.

The original anaeroid monitor uses a bulb pump and shows the level on a mechanical dial, but all wrist models have a digital display and automatic inflation of the cuff. In this review I will discuss wrist monitors from three manufacturers, Wristech, Braun and Lumiscope.

Certain features are standard on each wrist monitor. These comprise battery operated cuff inflation when you start the check, display of both systolic and diastolic pressure in a digital form and provision for storage of the results together with a record of the date and time the test was carried out. Apart from this models vary in price and complexity giving you a wide choice to suit your individual circumstances. For instance one option is a talking blood pressure monitor.

Turning to particular models the ADC ADVANTAGE Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor. This is an example of a cheaper model that has all the basic features including a 90 day memory and a five year warranty. The Wristech Blood Pressure Monitor. Features an extra large, easy to read display with a protective cover for safe storage and travel. Includes 120 memory for up to three individuals. The LifeSource Blood Pressure Monitor. This is a small and compact model that is ideal for travel. This monitor stores the last 60 readings in an AM/PM memory allowing you to record variations during the day. It also includes a Pressure Rating Indicator and Irregular Heartbeat detection.

There has only been room to cover a small selection of blood pressure monitors in this review, but you should at least have an idea of the features to look out for should you decide to buy a wrist monitor for your own use.

 

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